Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-07-11
HORTICULTURE.
The Excellent Address of
Milton Thomas.
PROFITS OF FRUIT RAISING.
What Varieties to Plant and How
TO Plant Them-A Lucid
Essay.


County Pathological Society, lately
held at Orange, Mr.. Milton Thomas,
one of the most experienced horticul-
turists in Southern California, deliv-
cred most thoughtful address. 1t
takes up considerable space in the pa
per, but its excellence fully warrants its
propuction. Mr.. Thomas spoke as
follows:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: In coming
before you to say something in regard
to the present and future of the fruit
industry, shall try to show some of
the various ways and the different pro-
cesses of preparing and marketing our
fruit. In this brief way l cannot re-
fer to all the products of this wonder
full industry, nor the various avenues
that are likely to open for the dispo-
sal of the fruits Of California.
The possibilities of the fruit industry
in California are beyond our most
sanguine expectations. Let us look at
the various ways in which our fruit
can be used. Let us look at the sub
ject briefly.
/ shall take up the subject of horti-
culture in the broadcast sense, making
it include all the fruits that grow and
do well on this coast.
FRUITS IN oLDEN TIMES.
In taking a retrospective view of the
various fruits that were grown in Cali
fornia in 1S49 and 1850, we find there
were only few kinds, and those of
inferior varieties except grapes and
oranges. The Mission grape was
about the only foreign variety grown
at that time in California, and it was
considered quite luxury to the miners
and others who came here at that
time. 1t is still good grape, but
since that time there have been intro
duced from Europe very many other
varieties that excel. In the same
years there were few orange trees
grown in Los Angeles county. re-
member in 1869 being shown few
old trees, at the old Mission San Ga
briel, that were eighty years old, still
in good state of preservation, and
bearing well. These old orange trees
and the Mission grapes introduced by
the Catholic fathers probably over a
hundred years ago pro ed a success,
and led to others being planted, and
We are indebted to-day to these Cath
olic fathers for these fruits. There
are also old Seeding pear trees at the
Mission over 100 years old. The first
grated fruit trees were brought to
California in 1851 '52 and '53. Fruit
trees at that time were 81 apiece, and
the fruits were sold from 81 to 81 per
pound. But this was in the golden
days of California, when mining was
the principal industry and men made
$40, $l2 and $16 per day. As time
passed there were more fruit trees
planted, nurseries established and the
price of trees and fruits diminished,
and before railroads reached our coast
the price of fruit was not remunera-
tive and orchardists lost their interest
in Embarrassing, and it was some years
before fruit was shipped East with
profit.
Porter Brothers, of Chicago, COM
menced to ship fruit East i'll large
quantities several years ago; then
others commenced. Finally 1000 or
more carloads of green fruit were
shipped in q year. 1t was not always
a success, especially if the market was
glutted or the fruit was received in
poor condition. The freight per car
was 5000 to 5000, whereas now it is
but 5000 to 1900; so you can see that
the fruit industry in the past was not
always profitable.
FRUITS AT PRESENT.
We find at the present time it prom
ises to be one of the leading industries
in California. There is no country in
the world that can compete with us
when we take into consideration the
various fruits we can grow to perfec-
tion. Let us contrast the countries
that produce tropical and semi-trop-
ical fruits. Can they produce apple,
pear, peach, apricot, nectarine, prune,
plum, ETC., and other fruits and nuts
that we can produce in such quanti-
ties, and the quality being tirst-class? ?
We say no; not by any means. We
produce the best OF semi-tropical
fruits, and our deciduous cannot be
excelled, taken as whole. We see
growing in the same orchard orange,
lemon, pear, apple, peach, apricot,
walnut, almond-also the strawberry
and other small fruits, as well as the
best foreign grape that grows any
where, with more tons to the acre
than any other portion OF the world.
We defy the world to excel
in quality or quantity. Our
peaches can be used for drying
and command good prices, as do also
evaporated. Evaporated peeled
peaches command fancy prices. In
this connection allow me to allude to
a cheap and novel way to peel peaches.
Simply put the peaches in weak lye,
and let them remain in it. about
moment, and the skins will slip off by
plunging them into cold water. This
being such simple process every one
should try it. Now, as to canned
peaches, there is good market in the
East and Europe; besides, vast guam
titles are consumed in Great Britain.
There is no question but what there
will be good and certain market for
all peaches that can be produced in
California.
Then next, let us consider the april
cot, which is one of the best of fruits.
Eaten when ripe it is delicious, and it
cannot be surpassed in flavor. 1t is
most conducive to health, and on
account of its acidity is in great de-
mand in cold countries and on ship
board, and especially on long voyages.
Canned apricots will always be in de-
mand. The dried apricot is perhaps
the best dried fruit we have. The
evaporated apricot commands the
highest prices in the best markets of
the world. There is one thing, per-
haps, which is not generally known,
that there are but few places in the
world where the apricot can be pro-
d,,oad California il the best apricOt- |